title: Estrogenic influences in pain processing.
abstract: Gonadal hormones not only play a pivotal role in reproductive behavior and sexual differentiation, they also contribute to thermoregulation, feeding, memory, neuronal survival, and the perception of somatosensory stimuli. Numerous studies on both animals and human subjects have also demonstrated the potential effects of gonadal hormones, such as estrogens, on pain transmission. These effects most likely involve multiple neuroanatomical circuits as well as diverse neurochemical systems and they therefore need to be evaluated specifically to determine the localization and intrinsic characteristics of the neurons engaged. The aim of this review is to summarize the morphological as well as biochemical evidence in support for gonadal hormone modulation of nociceptive processing, with particular focus on estrogens and spinal cord mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: asa.amandusson@akademiska.se.
authors.forename: Åsa
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Amandusson
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blomqvist
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen
keywords: Enkephalin; Estrogen receptors; Estrogens; Gonadal hormones; Medullary dorsal horn; Nociception; Opioid; Pain mechanisms; Spinal dorsal horn; Steroid hormones